News Briefs

December 6, 1995
Web posted at: 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT)

War of words escalates between Sudan, Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda (CNN) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is threatening to send commandos into Southern Sudan to flush out rebels who are trying to overthrow his government.

Sudan recently made a similar charge -- saying Uganda dispatched troops to support an offensive by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) based in the Southern quarter of the country. Sudan has even banned flights from Uganda carrying relief supplies.

Since 1983, the SPLA has been fighting what it perceives as the Northern Arab domination of Southern Sudan.

President Museveni ruled out a large-scale operation against Sudan unless Khartoum, the Sudanese government capital, acted first.

Confessed assassin charged; mourning period for Rabin ends

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Yitzhak Rabin's assassin was charged with premeditated murder Tuesday as grieving Jews marked the end of a 30-day mourning period for the slain prime minister.

Yigal Amir, 25, a Jewish law student who confessed to the crime, was charged in Tel Aviv's district court with killing Rabin at a November 4 peace rally. His brother Hagai and friend Dror Adani were charged with conspiracy. The three were also charged with conspiracy to attack Palestinians in the West Bank. They will be brought to court Wednesday to hear the charges.

The trio toyed with blowing up Rabin's car or firing a rocket into his apartment, the charge sheet said. In the end, Yigal Amir decided to kill Rabin with his 9mm Beretta pistol.

In Jerusalem, an emotional Prime Minister Shimon Peres bid farewell to his political partner and heralded the "dawn of peace." "You were murdered because you were right," Peres told a gathering of mourners. "The bullets that pierced your chest did not cut down the fruits of your labor -- they only revealed them."

Solana

NATO appoints new secretary-general

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana officially became NATO's new secretary-general on Tuesday as alliance foreign ministers affirmed what had been expected since last week.

Solana, 53, succeeds Belgian Willy Claes, who resigned in the midst of a domestic bribery scandal. He was a compromise candidate after the first people considered for the position ran into opposition.

Solana, a one-time NATO critic who became a supporter of Spanish participation in NATO, is to take up his duties between the European Union summit in Madrid on December 16 and Christmas.

Children die in grenade attack on kindergarten

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Three children were killed when a man blew up two grenades in a kindergarten on Tuesday, Russian news media reported. The attack occurred in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the Russian republic of North Ossetia.

Police said the man had rushed the school and demanded ransom. At least three people were hurt in the explosion, including the man, who was severely injured.

Surprise: Brawl breaks out in Taiwan parliament

TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- If Taiwan's parliament is in session, then a fight among members is bound to happen. There was another brawl on Tuesday. (800K QuickTime movie)

The punching, shoving, and wrestling evolved from a dispute over funding for veterans. But it more than likely represented the mood in parliament after Saturday's elections in which the ruling party lost ground.